Season 8 | Ep15 From doubt to £1M in 2yrs: How Hemish Ilangaratne built RX Group

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Hemish Ilangaratne, founder of RX Group, a specialist life sciences recruitment agency.

In this candid episode, Hemish sheds light on his inspiring journey: 

• From 11 years at S3 Group (where he didn’t close a single deal in the last seven years) to launching RX Group in 2023.
• Exceeding his modest first-year goal of £150k and reaching nearly £1M in revenue within two years.
• How self-doubt and perseverance shaped his decision to become an entrepreneur.
• Building a successful life sciences recruitment business serving clients across the US.
• The role of personal branding, LinkedIn, and a supportive partner in his rapid growth.
• Insights on leadership, team-building, and creating a positive impact in a niche market.

Hemish’s story is a testament to resilience, strategy, and the power of believing in yourself – even when doubt creeps in. 

If you’re considering launching your own business or want to learn how to thrive in 2025, this episode is for you!

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Hemish Ilangaratne and RX Group

06:49 Career development at S3

12:26 Transitioning to management roles

17:58 Challenges in leadership and team management

21:01 The decision to start RX Group

25:19 Navigating family expectations and career choices

29:49 Transitioning to entrepreneurship

32:38 Starting the journey

34:04 Building a personal brand

35:58 Leveraging LinkedIn for success

37:30 Quantifying revenue growth

39:54 The importance of leadership

41:21 Balancing work and personal life

43:17 Enjoying independence in business

45:29 Future growth plans

47:53 Hiring strategies and team dynamics

49:19 Creating a meaningful impact

51:54 The bigger picture of business goals

53:27 Attracting talent in a niche market

55:31 Building confidence before quitting

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Episode Sponsor: Beyond the Founder.

What is the essential senior hire you need to make to increase revenue and protect your recruitment business as it grows? 

Let’s be honest, building and scaling an agency isn’t just about billing more. It’s about putting together a leadership team that you trust to help you take your business to the next level. 

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They specialise in placing leaders who make an impact – whether it’s a Managing Director to shape your vision, a Sales leader to boost revenue, or an Ops expert to streamline your processes. Their no-nonsense, tailored approach is designed to save ambitious recruitment founders time and to deliver results.

Paul, the man behind Beyond the Founder, has over 20 years of experience scaling recruitment businesses himself, so he understands what’s at stake for his clients. 

What Paul and his team do so well is relieve that pressure. 

They help you remove your biggest obstacle to growth: finding and securing your key hires. And they do it in a way that supports your long-term business goals.  

So, if you’re serious about growing your recruitment agency or if you want to build a business that suits your lifestyle, you need to contact these guys. 

Head to beyondthefounder.co.uk or email them directly at [email protected]

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Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES! 

We use Untapped for Hoxo’s own offshore hires, and it’s been a total game-changer for our team. No one else can compete with the quality of their network, their in-depth candidate assessment process or their time to hire. 

If hiring elite-level overseas talent into your business to boost sales and increase productivity whilst saving yourself a huge amount in employment costs isn’t on your radar for 2024, it should be!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

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